Hi there,

I will be travelling to Spain for the first time in March and should be there for about 5 days. We are flying into Madrid and really haven't made any plans yet other than our flights. Can anyone tell me what would be the best things to see and do in five days. My travel companions and I have only come to the comclusion that we would like to see a bull fight. Where does one go to do that? Other than that our plans are pretty open. Any sugesstions?

Thanks in advance,
Amy

well there have been many threads on what to do in short amounts of time in madrid and/or spain. so it's kind of hard to pin point what to do. as for the bullfight you could go to the las ventas bullring and purchase your tickets. go to their website and see what their schedule is for next year, (i am not sure if it's even up yet) but i believe bullfights starts in march. www.las-ventas.com also here are some links to the other threads we have discissed ont this topic, hope it helps, good luck!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.madridman.com/ubb/Forum4/HTML/000019.html http://www.madridman.com/ubb/Forum4/HTML/000075.html http://www.madridman.com/ubb/Forum4/HTML/000098.html



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Spain Page!! Check it out! http://www.geocities.com/missmadrid98

Well my fellow Michigander, since you are limited to 5 days you propably don't want to leave madrid for long. A day trip to toledo might well be worth your time. It would give you an idea of spain beyond Madrid. It would also give you a chance to buy really cool swords. It was one of my favorite citys in spain (for reasons beyond the incedent with the tour group of thirty boisterious spanish girls)and a favorite of many others. It will also give you a chance to see some lovely countryside (mountainside?). hit some of the little resturants in the middle of madrid, they are worth it. Oh take lots and lots of pictures, you will want them later.

Well, Ms Amy,
If you like art, I highly recommend the Museo Thyssen-Bornemizsa. It is not so famous as the Prado, but I actually preferred it to the Prado. It is not so big, and it has a nice collection of all sorts of artistic styles - from Medieval to Modern. It is all organized in a very simple, walkable format. I highly recommend this place.

The CLEAR method for 5 days is: spend them ALL in Madrid with at least one side trip, maybe two. The easily reached and preferred places by this board are: Toledo and Segovia, and El escorial.

Second the comments above - spend the full five days in Madrid!!! Want to add the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia National Museum to the Thyssen-Bornemizsa suggestion. Reina Sofia has a lot of Picasso (including his famous painting that symbolized the Spanish Civil War - Guernica), Dali - that genre plus a lot of more recent art - it's a gallery lovers treat! Just wander the city -around every turn you will find something of interest

Does this mean that you are spending 'Spring Break' in Spain? I concur with much of what I have read (i.e., stay in Madrid!), but my own objective at that time of year would be Valencia: The Fallas de Valencia end March 19 (San Jose); there are bullfights & other festivities throughout Comunitat de Valencia (all the way to Alicante) during the week before that; and you may find more agreeable weather on the coast.
Also, I found the air quality in Madrid in mid-March leaves much to be desired. Spend a few days in Madrid; but if you really want to see a bullfight, go to Valencia.

Five Days in Madrid: EAT!!!

Seriously, though...obviously spend some QUALITY time in the Prado. I'm a huge El Greco fan as well as Goya (pinturas negras are not to be missed...ask someone how they got there...great story!). The Prado blows doors off of the Louvre, and the paintings are all legitimate, not stolen art!!!

One place that most haven't mentioned here is the Museo Arqueológico just up the street from the Puerta de Alcalá. There you'll find some of the physical artefacts that represent the millenia of history in Iberia. La Dama de Elche is there, some funky Visigothic royal jewels, etc. There's even a complete recreation of la cueva de Altamira. In an afternoon, you can flow through the history of Spain and really get a feel for the city and country you're visiting. You can follow that up with some people-watching in the Retiro while you chow on some good Spanish food!

As was mentioned, with five days, you may want to break up the trip on day three and take a day trip to Segovia...MUCH to see there. (You can't miss with Toledo either, but I have a Segovia bias, sorry!)

Regardless of what you decide, you will definitely enjoy...don't forget to tell us all about it!!!

I agree with Puna and Balise about Museos Reina Sofia and Thyssen-Bornemizsa. My favortie time in a Spanish Museum was viewing a photogtaphy exhibit at Reina Sofia: Espana Ayer y Hoy. It had photographs of the last century. It was a moving learning experience. Try to see one museum a day. Trying to do more would be sensory overload!

I recomend the Royal Palace which can be visited with a guide and which is very, very beautiful. It has several perfect rooms which were decorated for like 20 years (a few of them) and the exquisite gardens. It impressed me a lot.
Also Museo de America, which has a great collection of American-Indian (Maya, Inca, etc) artefacts and a few shocking things that were a real surprize for me.